Warner Brothers Studio tour is must-see for all Harry Potter fans.. and even the muggles who haven't seen the movies

CRAIG ALEXANDER WILSON enjoys a trip to the Warner Brothers Studio tour and says the sheer attention to detail, production insight and animatronics will enthral even those who aren't Harry Potter fans.

I'M a movie buff and the first to put my hand up and admit I’m a muggle too.

Of course, I’m talking about Harry Potter. And since the first film in 2001, I’ve been transfixed by the boy wizard and the language used, such as muggle, mudblood and expelliarmus.

So it only seemed right that, 12 years on, I should do what any Potter fan does and do the Warner Brothers Studio tour.

The start of the tour gives you a glimpse into the world of Harry from his very beginnings – you walk past his room under the stairs in Privet Drive and are then taken into a holding area as clips of the movies flash up on the walls.

Cleverly, there is a feeling of travel as you follow the trail on video to Hogwarts before arriving at some huge doors, instantly recognisable from every movie as the entrance to the Great Hall.

Anticipation fills the room before opening to reveal, in all its splendour, the hall decked in Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw flags.

Costumes worn by the characters are displayed and at the end of the hall, there are the teachers’ costumes including Dumbledore’s and Hagrid’s.

Now I understand Trekkies. The tour gives you a great insight not only into the sets and the staging but the mechanics of how it all works.

Walk through the Ministry of Magic, visit Dumbledore’s office and, of course, 4 Privet Drive where orphaned Harry was left to live with the Dursleys.

You can even walk across Hogwarts Bridge, which features heavily in the films. There is a great make-up area too which is filled with wigs and prosthetics.

I was, of course, drawn to this. You will be amazed by the things you forget from earlier movies until you see an object, a prop or a costume.

My highlight was a trip up Diagon Alley, the street where Harry is taken by Hagrid to buy a wand.

Pride of place is Ollivanders Wand Shop and everything is so authentic – in one window, there was the top-of-the- range broomsticks, the Nimbus 2000 and 2001.

Even if you, as a parent, aren’t a Potter fanatic then worry not. Not only will you enjoy the excitement of seeing the kids’ faces light up but the sheer attention to detail, production insight and even the animatronics will interest you.

I went with my partner, who had never seen a Potter movie, and even he smiled and admitted enjoying it.

I bought my very own wand in the gift shop but beware, there is a heavy price tag on almost everything and unless you have an invisibility cloak, there is no getting away from the “I wants” from the kids.

The place was heaving with wannabe Gryffindor students, cloaked in Hogwarts attire. And everywhere you turn, someone is wearing the famous Harry glasses..and not just the children.

It is a truly magical experience for young and old and, for a few hours, if it takes you away to another world where owls deliver your post, chocolate frogs come to life and the favourite tipple is butterbeer then that’s money well spent.

Craig inside the splendid Great Hall (Image: Handout)

The 200-acre tour site in Leavesden, Hertfordshire, is accessible by road, rail or bus and you can see by the car park size that this place gets really busy.

Flying into Luton, I wanted accommodation close to hand and while researching movie tours, I discovered Luton Hoo – a hotel in a sprawling estate that is steeped in film history.

The 228-bedroom hotel in a former mansion opened in 2007 and has undergone a £60million revamp. After reading of its splendour and spa on the website, my mind was made up.

It was the movie connections and the sprawling parklands that attracted me to Luton Hoo but if you want to follow other pursuits such as golf or shooting, they are catered for too.

And I loved how the London cabs with personalised plates took you to whatever part of estate you needed to go.

I got quite used to jumping into my personal cab for what was only a five-minute walk to the spa. Lazy, I know.

Although once you have experienced one of the fabulous relaxing treatments, walking isn’t high on your priority list.

The five-star estate, along with the spa and 18-hole golf course, also has a swimming pool, vitality pool gymnasium, conference facilities, tennis courts and clay pigeon shooting school.

Credited as featuring in scenes from Four Weddings and a Funeral, The World Is Not Enough and Vanity Fair to name a few, the Adams Brasserie embraces the hotel’s film history and has framed pictures of movie scenes on its walls.

I have to say there is a real splendour to the place and neither the scale or the surroundings ever make you feel out of place. I loved relaxing in the drawing room with a red wine after dinner.

The staff are warm and welcoming and I was lucky enough to bump into Zena Dickinson, a Luton Hoo legend in her own right who, as well as working for the property’s glamorous former owners The Wernher Family, now works at the hotel.

A real archivist and a charming lady, I asked her to fill me in on everything from Hugh Grant to Tom Cruise, who also filmed Eyes Wide Shut there. Both were very charming, she told me.

Like any great movie, location is key and this muggle would give this place and the Warner Brothers tour the thumbs-up.